(ANS – Panama City) – Two important meetings of Catholic schools in America took place from 14-18 January in Panama: The Catholic Education Interamerican Congress organised by the Interamerican Catholic Education Confederation(CIEC); and the Salesian Schools in America (ESA, in Spanish), where Salesian Family participants evaluated progress since the Cumbayà meeting in 1994 and the challenges for Catholic education in the continent.

Some 800 representatives of religious congregations and dioceses from Latin America and the Caribbean gathered in Panama for the 23rd Interamerican Catholic Education Congress under the heading of: “Great challenges, a common identity”. They reflected on Catholic education today in a world of “moral, ethical relativism, subjectivity, materialism and alienation from God”, where Catholic educators are called to new evangelisation through new media, methods, educational programmes, personnel and structures.

ESA took place before and after the Interamerican Catholic Education Conference, spread over two meetings: the first was Monday 14 January, ESA national, and the second on Friday 18, dealing with education at regional and province level. It involved 150 members of the Salesian Family, including Salesians, Salesian Sisters, Daughters of the Divine Saviour and many other educators from throughout Latin America, representing 60 Provinces from the region (that is, of various Salesian Family Groups).

Fr Miguel Angel García Morcuende and Sr. Costanza Arango representing the Department and Sector respectively for Sdb and FMA Youth Ministry, were also present. The Secretary General of the International Organisation for Catholic Education (OIEC), Fr Angelo Astorgano, sdb, took part, speaking of the importance of setting up networks for collaboration amongst Catholic schools at international level and offering a formation plan for Salesian educators in this context.

It is important to recall that since Cumbayá, in 1994, until today, ESA has had almost twenty years of reflection and coordination in Latin American schools. Other initiatives of OIEC were presented along with its new “Catholic schools social network”. The document on the central animating team for ESA was updated; it expresses concretely the roles and functions of continental and regional leadership. One of the most important topics was development of and discussion on best practice, and initiatives and processes in the four ESA regions.

After the third Continental ESA meeting in 2008, decisions taken in Santo Domingo in 2010, it was necessary to evaluate the strong points and challenges regarding four fundamental areas: animation-management-accompaniment, communication, formation and culture of evaluation. In the regional meeting, finally, work guidelines were established and a calendar for future meetings.

These days which had such representation from Provinces encourage and foster new educational and pastoral policies and structures for collaboration, for working together in the face of new frontiers in the Americas and Caribbean. Slowly, with everyone's cooperation, significance is being given to the Salesian Family mission in the service of the people in this vast continent.

Published 25/01/2013